Buttery and loaded with pecans, Pecan Snowball Cookies are a classic. They are very simple to make -- quick and easy! Use a cookie scoop to keep the cookies uniform when putting them on the baking sheet. Making cookies uniform using a tablespoon depends on your own judgement to keep them all the same size. Mine grow a bit larger with every cookie! Chop the pecans ahead of time with a chopper or food processor. This makes the process, then, just one of measure and stir. Watch closely toward the end of the baking process so cookies don't brown as that will cause them to be dry. Cookies really do need to be rolled twice in powdered sugar. The first coat absorbs oil and moisture, the second coat makes snowballs! Pecan Snowball Cookies Print Prep time 10 mins Cook ... [Read More]
pecans
German Chocolate Cake Nibbles
German Chocolate Cake Nibbles are reminiscent of the popular coconut and chocolate cake sometimes served during the holidays. These cookies are really easy to make, but the results look fabulous. Since these are drop cookies they are not make ahead and bake later cookies. In other words, prepare the batter and bake the cookie in the same day. However, they are quick and easy to make you won't mind. And the smell is heavenly. Not to mention -- chocolate!! German Chocolate Cake Nibbles Print Prep time 10 mins Cook time 8 mins Total time 18 mins Author: A Pinch of Joy by Charlene Vance Serves: 3 dozen Ingredients 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup light brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 large eggs, beaten 2¼ cups ... [Read More]
Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies are ready to bake in about twenty minutes. About 15 minutes in the oven and they are done. Remove to a cooling rack and go to bed. Seriously, the cookies will taste much better the next day if you let them set overnight after baking. It’s worth the wait, I promise!!! The first time I baked these cookies, the guys inhaled them and said they were good. I wasn’t so sure. But when I tasted them for breakfast the next morning, I was sure. It’s a classic good news, bad news situation. Good news – I was impressed at how quickly I could turn out several dozen cookies. Bad news – you’ll need to wait a few hours for the amazing taste to come to full bloom. I’m usually all about quick and easy, so this Make and Wait is a new discipline for me! For ... [Read More]
Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad with red wine vinegar dressing
Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad is a springtime hit with berries fresh from the garden and fresh salad greens. Of course, you can make it any time of year with berries and greens from the grocery. Use your favorite salad greens. Leaf lettuce or Bibb lettuce from the garden, spring green mix, iceberg pieces, spinach, romaine. Or a mixture of any mild flavored green. Add a handful of chopped kale to each plate, if you like. Generally, a serving of salad is about one cup (pressed down) of fresh greens. Or, the number of servings in a 16 ounce bag of greens is often listed as six. This recipe will make 6 side salads or three generous dinner salads. The dinner salads are the choice at our house. The dressing is the star of the show. And I don’t eat dressing on my salads!!! I’ll have ... [Read More]
Bacon Pecan Green Beans
Bacon Pecan Green Beans are sensational! Bacon! Brown Sugar! Pecans! Fresh Green Beans! Flavored with caramelized onions! Oh my great goodness! Forget the creamy bean casserole with the crushed onion topping that has graced the table since grandma started cooking. It was – and still is – good -but this . . . . This is a game changing green bean dish! A tableful of talkative adults turns into a very silent and focused “can’t eat this stuff fast enough” bunch. Forget the turkey or steak and whatever else is on the table. Don’t bother to breath until the last little bit of sugared bacon flavored pecan is gone. It’s that good! Maybe not so good for socializing – but a treat for the taste buds! Use whole fresh beans, cleaned and tips broken off, if you can find them out ... [Read More]
Curried Chicken and Fruit Salad
One of our long time favorites and a make ahead main dish -- Curried Chicken and Fruit Salad. The weather has been summery – astounding for March! And we’ve taken advantage of it, with lots of time in the garden. Meals when we are concentrating on a project are usually do ahead. Last night I reached back in the archives from the very first days of A Pinch of Joy and came up with this to make ahead and enjoy after a very busy day. Curried Chicken and Fruit Salad is a festive, flavorful salad that is so versatile. It is not spicy, but is uniquely and wonderfully flavored. It is the first thing I think of when I need something for a luncheon because it can be served so many different ways. Great by itself, it also goes well with croissants or any delicately flavored quick bread. ... [Read More]
